‘Affirming’, ‘inspiring’, ‘informative’ and ‘brilliant’– just some of the words delegates used to describe the VCCC Alliance Research Conference, held 11-13 September 2023 at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
After a COVID-enforced hiatus of four years since the last Research Conference, over 400 delegates relished the opportunity to reconnect in person and experience the unique multi-disciplinary programming of this event – bringing consumer perspectives and the real-world impact of research to the fore.
Following a day of highly engaging pre-conference workshops, the tone was set for the first main conference day by a heartwarming welcome to country by two of the Djirri Djirri dancers - and two-year-old Jirra (who totally stole the show).
Despite having such a hard act to follow, first plenary by Prof Charles Swanton from the Crick Institute grabbed everyone’s attention, examining the role of air pollution in promoting the development of lung cancer and the implications of this in our increasingly polluted world. (We also interviewed Charles about his groundbreaking research).
The Djirri Djirri dancers, including a two-year-old who stole the show!
Guided, challenged, and entertained by the inimitable Julie McCrossin as MC for the day, we then heard a diverse and fascinating array of presentations examining topics around social determinants of health – the good, the bad and the ugly. No doubt in anyone’s mind that we have a long way to go to achieve equity in outcomes, although Prof Dorothy Keefe’s roadmap for the new Australian Cancer Plan and Prof Michelle Haber’s successes towards zero deaths from childhood cancers gave cause for optimism.
A graphic recording of Prof Dorothy Keefe's plenary session, drawn by Jessamy Gee
In every session, Julie determinedly brought us from the science to real world impact, and what the research meant for patients. It was a key success factor in the conference – challenging everyone to look up and look out, and consider the context of the science.
The conference dinner at the Arts Centre brought light relief, many laughs, real joy – and a few tears -as the amazing Royal Melbourne Hospital Scrub Choir entertained a full house with some of their best-loved songs plus a new medley of Olivia Newton-John classics, created specifically for our event. Special thanks to Cherie Cheshire, Divisional Director - Cancer and Neurosciences at Austin Health, for her beautiful tribute to her beloved friend, Olivia.
The Royal Melbourne Hospital Scrub Choir performs at the Conference Dinner
Congratulations also to our inaugural VCCC Alliance Leading for Impact Award winners who received their trophies on the night.
The scene was set for day two, by The Hon Tim Richardson MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Infrastructure, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, representing the Health Minister. The Victorian Government (Victorian Cancer Agency) was Platinum Sponsor of the conference and Mr Richardson emphasised the difference that collaboration was making in cancer, bringing us closer to better outcomes for all Victorians.
From there, Assoc Prof Shalin Naik from WEHI, our highly entertaining MC for Day two, led a jam-packed day of presentations focused on new technologies. This included something of a call to arms from Prof Shelley Dolan, now CEO of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, who highlighted how the amazing progress in science and technology simply isn’t enough in its own right, and set out a raft of enablers for equity and access – once again with the person at the centre.
A graphic recording of Prof Shelley Dolan's plenary session, drawn by Jessamy Gee
The day concluded with a sharp and witty debate on the topic that ‘AI will replace the cancer workforce in five years’ – with the negative team winning by a slim margin. A fascinating topic that was taken up in more detail – and more seriously – in a follow up article by AAP journalist Rachael Ward.
Following the award of prizes for oral presentations and posters, consumer and patient voices had the final say as we welcomed members of the public to join us for the Cancer Communities Forum to close out the conference. Facilitated by Alison Coughlan, CEO of Health Issues Centre, a panel of clinicians and consumers addressed some curly questions in the format of ‘You can’t ask that’, about the opportunities of, and obstacles to, precision oncology and the role of tailored therapies in contemporary cancer care.
Reflecting on the three-day event, Executive Director of the VCCC Alliance, Professor Grant McArthur AO, said he has been overwhelmed by the positive feedback he had received about the conference.
“This is so different to other conferences, everyone I spoke to loved the diversity, the opportunity to learn broadly from some of the best in the world - and get new perspectives."
"People really valued having the patient voice woven through and that is such a change in approach. For most of us, patient impact is our ‘why’ so bringing everything back to that is stimulating and motivating, so I am very grateful to our consumers for playing such an active role in a research conference.”
A huge thank you to everyone who attended, contributed, and participated for helping to make the event such a success, especially:
The recordings of all sessions will be made available soon through the Centre for Cancer Education for those who attended the Research Conference, free of charge. For those that missed the conference, you'll be able to access the resource for a modest fee.
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